The use of wireless devices is increasing at a rapid rate. A majority of the people living in large metropolitan areas use one or more wireless devices on a daily basis. These people communicate with each other or access information on the Internet using, among other devices, wireless telephones, interactive pagers, personal digital assistants, and handheld computers. As technology continues to improve, wireless devices will become more useful; at the same time, they will decrease in size and weight, making them more portable than ever. Consequently, consumers may carry their wireless devices wherever they go. For some people, their wireless devices will become indispensable.
The widespread use of wireless telephones in the United States has prompted the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to promulgate new rules related to emergency call processing. The FCC's wireless Enhanced 911 (E911) rules require certain Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) carriers to begin transmission of enhanced location and identity information in two phases. The first phase, starting on Apr. 1, 1998, required wireless service providers to transmit a 911 caller's number and section of the cell site from which the call is originated to a public safety answering point (PSAP). The second phase, starting on Oct. 31, 2001, requires all wireless service providers to locate two-thirds of all 911 callers within 125 meters of their physical locations. In other words, for all 911 calls received, a PSAP must be able to pinpoint 67% of the callers within 125 meters.
Under the FCC rules, wireless communication networks and wireless telephones (or any wireless devices that can be used to call 911), must provide both the identity and location of the caller to a 911 dispatcher. To provide a caller's identity, the wireless device will furnish a device identification, e.g., a mobile identification number (MIN), indicating in most instances the telephone number of the device. To provide a caller's location, the wireless communication networks and wireless devices will use a network-based location system or a handheld location system installed within the wireless devices, or a combination of the two systems. An example of a handheld location system is a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,734, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a GPS receiver and a method for processing GPS signals.
The E911 mandate has accelerated technological advances in location technology. Many new innovations have been achieved to provide solutions to a wide range of problems. However, many problems remain unsolved. One of the problems that has not been solved is to count the number of people attending an event that does not require admission tickets. For example, no one knows how many people gather at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to enjoy the fireworks display on the Fourth of July. Similarly, no one knows how many beach-goers are sunbathing on a particular section of a popular beach on a particular day.
There are a number of existing methods for counting people. One frequently used method is to count the number of people present within a small unit area, and then multiply that count by the total number of unit areas. For example, if there are 500 people counted within a 10,000 square-foot area, and there are one million square feet, the total number of people present within that one million square-foot area is estimated to be 50,000. This method is inherently inaccurate because it erroneously assumes that the density of people throughout the whole area is constant. Indeed, at the Fourth of July gathering, for example, areas with a better view of the fireworks display tend to be more crowded than other areas. This method of counting could also be expensive if aerial photographs must be taken to delineate the area in question. In addition, this method takes many hours, and sometimes days, to complete.
A reasonably accurate count is useful for several purposes. For example, historians and the media need it to document an event while the police and event organizers use such data to better prepare for future events. In addition, a business entity may depend on the count as a basis to justify its advertising campaigns. For example, an advertiser may find it worthwhile to hire an airplane to pull an advertisement banner along a beach if there is a sufficiently large crowd of people on the beach.
Until now, wireless communication technologies have not been adapted to obtain an estimate of the number of people congregated within a geographical area. Until now, no wireless devices have been used to survey the opinion of people gathered within a certain area. Until now, there is no method for delivering an instantaneous result for a query broadcast to all people located within a specific location. In short, there is not a wireless communications service that can perform a variety of surveys via wireless devices.